BAR COUNCIL ETHICS PAPER

Just to add a short note for those law graduates who are about to sit or are sitting the Ethics paper (its the last paper they need to pass before they are eligible to be called to the Malaysian Bar).

As a former examiner of the legal ethics paper set by the Bar Council , I can well testify to the fact that many law graduates do not seem to be able to read or understand instructions.

The main examination instruction is quite simple, you can either answer the paper all in English or all in Malay. You are not allowed to answer part of the paper in English and part of it in Malay. Guess what? Many do just that, answering part of the paper in English and part of it in Malay. Others go further, answering part of a question in English and Malay. What do you get? A big fat egg, 0! If you can't read and understand simple exam instructions, how on earth are you going to receive and understand client's instructions?

There's worse to come. Many law graduates do not seem to understand the questions. They will give all types of answers but not the answer the question wants. Let's not say how terrible the answers were in English, grammatically or spelling, but that they were equally as bad in Malay. Worse of all, it was obvious that many could not string a sentence together in English but they persist in answering in English!

To cut a long story short. My passing rate used to amount to only about 10-15%. In other words, about 10-15 papers out of a 100 that I mark would actually pass. I used to get short letters from the Bar Council saying that many of the ethics papers I mark were being sat by law graduates who were repeat sitters. I replied that if my marking or grading were wrong, please point it out to me and I will remark accordingly. They never did! And they still kept sending them to me every year.

Here are some tips:

1. Read the instructions carefully and understand them fully. If you cannot do so, than you would be unable to take and understand client's instructions. Which in turn could lead to a professional negligence suit against you as a lawyer if you cock things up for your client.

2. If the instructions tell you to answer the paper all in English or all in Malay, do so. What is so difficult in doing that? Why is it, many law graduates seem to continue to show their lack of comprehension by persisting in answer some questions in English and others in Malay, or worse still, part of a question in English and part of it in Malay?

3. If your English is bad, answer in Malay. I cannot understand law graduates who persists in answering in English when it is very clear from the very first sentence that they are not fluent in English at all. You do not gain any additional points in answering in English!

4. Check your grammar and spelling, whether it is in English or Malay. Why should any Judge want to read your submission, be it in English or Malay, if its riddled with grammatical and spelling errors? He would probably think you are an idiot and many Judges have been known to say that to a lawyer's face! Learn to be professionally minded at the start of your career.

5. Please, please, please give the answer that the question is asking for! Do not give an answer that you think it wants or worse still, give an answer that has no relevance whatsoever to the question. Many examiners, including myself, have no patience whatsoever with idiots who give answers that have no bearing whatsoever to the question. We will just give you a ZERO! However, if you do give an answer which the question ask for, we tend to be generous in our marks. You would be surprised to know how many law graduates seem to be quite ignorant and gives answers that floats all over the place.

6. Quite a number of the examiners of the ethics paper, including myself, believe in marking the paper on a very strict and on an international standard. We believe that Malaysian lawyers can be of an international standard and we mark accordingly. We do not believe that Malaysian standards are not of an international standard.

This post has been edited by xenotzu: Sep 15 2012, 03:50 PM